Donna’s – (5 stars)

I have often felt that considering the vast number of terrific restaurants in Los Angeles, there was a distinct lack of great home style Italian eateries in the spirit of the East Coast and Midwest mom and pops. Donna’s in Echo Park fits perfectly into that void with a tight menu of classics done extremely well, modern drinks that fit the season, and an ambiance that is distinctly Italian without any red pleather booths or checkered tablecloths.

We started with a Cesar salad that had a dressing that perfectly hinted at the anchovies without being overwhelming, fresh shredded cheese and house made croutons – Great.

Bruschetta – a very hearty, thick bread with mild goat cheese and peaches that were rich and sweet, balance with a vinegar and rich olive oil that I mopped up. This dish a so dependent on the quality of those peaches, and they make sure they are the stars. – Great.

Chicken Parmigiana – huge portion or perfectly breaded, pounded chicken that was completely absent of any oily or greasiness to the breading, which takes a real skill to pull of. Perfectly browned cheese covered the dish which was brought to life by the “gravy,” a bright tomato sauce that really felt like home made. – Great

Pasta with Pork Raghu – not what it is exactly called but I can’t remember what the pasta was specifically beyond being a tube. The pork was almost shredded as opposed to ground, but it worked and the flavors were great. – very good.

My wife ordered a Donna’s Spritz which she thought was refreshing and tasty.

I had a cognac based drink that I can’t remember the name of now that was a take on a classic Sour and was great. They accidentally made my the mescal drink they feature and if you like Smokey Mescal you likely would like this one, but not my jam.

Dessert – I had the tiramisu for dessert. I liked it, but felt like the core tiramisu was a bit light on the liquor/vanilla/something flavor, and the salted crème on top was very dominant, but it was still enjoyable. – Good.

Strawberry Tart – beautiful, and well made with a toasted merengue like top and violets for garnish, but not my thing. My wife liked it, but it was a heavier texture I wasn’t expecting, and the strawberry didn’t really taste like strawberry to me under all the things happening. My wife was stuffed but ate it all, so I think this is just a personal thing. – N/A

They bring a lemoncello for everyone to wrap up the meal and theirs was solid. Flavorful without being overly syrupy or sweet. Good stuff.

by Maximum-Motor5028